


80s films

by wisewitchgirl



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 80's Music, Alternate Universe, Based on a One Direction Song, F/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24814111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisewitchgirl/pseuds/wisewitchgirl
Summary: the consequences of meeting someone at a party’s roof (and of an emergency trip to the hospital).
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunshine/gifts).



> 80s alternative universe based on end of the day by One Direction.
> 
> To Natalia, one of the best people I’ve met this year and my pocketful of sunshine. Happy birthday, sunshine.
> 
> hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> ps: it has some 80s expressions on it.

“Relax, Katara, is just a party” Sokka said while he was giving the final touches at the house.

Since their father went travel for work two days ago, Sokka decided to host a big party at their houses, but Katara was 100% against this idea – seriously, who can organize a party in  _ two fucking days _ ? – and some voice in her mind was saying that something bad was about to happen.

“They will break something, you know? And father will be mad at  _ you _ ” she sat at a chair on the kitchen. 

She didn’t hated parties; in fact, she normally had a lot of fun in plenty of them. But she knew Sokka’s friends and didn’t trusted them to get drunk at  _ their _ house with a lot of expensive and meaningful stuff. Plus, their dad didn’t knew about this “little” party and her brother would be in trouble if something happened to the house.

“Father will be mad at  _ us _ , you meant” he smiled, making Katara roll her eyes feeling really offended.

“No, he will not, airhead. This is your party, I’m not involved. By the way, I’m the daughter who tried to stop you, you know; the responsible one” 

“The lame one” he corrected her, showing his tongue “So… you’ll be at your room the whole party?” he raised his eyebrows, making her wonder for a moment.

“Of course not. I have to watch your guests cause they can’t break anything from mom”

When she stopped talking, Sokka started organizing everything for a moment. Anyone who knew him would know that he was having an idea, and Katara didn’t knew if she was anxious or afraid of whatever her brother was going to say. The brown haired boy knew that his sister was a pain in the ass sometimes, but he also knew that, when she was comfortable, she was a extremely fun person; plus, he loved her anyway, so of course he wanted her to have some fun.

“I have an idea” Sokka said.

“I fear your ideas. And no, I’ll not help you, Sokka. This will cause a lot of trouble and…” she would continue with the talking, but he interrupted her.

“Hear me out for a second, Katara: what if we take all the things that can be broken and put on dad’s room? Tell me if i’m not a genius” he said proud of himself.

“Yeah, of course, cause our table, TV, &tc will fit at dad’s room” she rolled her eyes. “Admit that this party is a bad idea, Sokka”

“Parties are  _ never _ a bad idea. And you know what I mean… mom stuff” 

She continued looking at him, trying to make a decision. Katara knew that, it didn’t matter if she agreed or not, the party would go on. Sokka was looking at her with his puppy eyes when she snorted and agreed in helping him. 

“Fine. But if they break something, I’ll not borrow you money to fix it” she got off the chair and started helping.

“Yes! There’s no need, little sister. This party will be stellar!” he screamed the last word, putting his hands in the air and making her laugh. 

Here’s a few things that you need to know about Sokka’s party in Katara’s vision of the facts:

  1. It wasn’t stellar. It was actually pretty boring. Obviously not for her brother, who drank something called “cactus juice” and was dancing all over the place – and flirting with a girl who seemed too much for him, too.
  2. Their friend Toph broke three glasses on a arm wrestle and drunk people don’t clean anything _that_ _good_.
  3. Katara had danced and drank – just a little – that night, but, at this point, the party was already dying for her.
  4. Sokka and his friends would only stop partying when the police arrive.
  5. Her room was occupied with people doing things that she _really didn’t_ want to know what were, so she went to the roof to have some peace.



And here’s a few things that you need to know about Sokka’s party in Aang’s vision:

  1. The party was totally tubular. Aang was definitely a social butterfly and soon he and Sokka became the heart of the party and introduced his friend Suki to Sokka – it was a good match!, he thought.
  2. He didn’t broke anything.
  3. His dance abilities were _really_ good and he showed some amazing dance steps to the gang when “Night Fever” started playing.
  4. The party was really good but starting to die – although this was only going to happen when the police arrive – and he was a little bit tired of dancing.
  5. He first saw Sokka’s sister at the party, dancing with them, and he couldn’t deny that she was truly beautiful. So there’s nothing new in saying that he was happy when she showed up at the roof, where he was taking a break.



“Oh, sorry” Katara said when she saw Aang sitting at the floor. “I didn’t knew that someone was here”

“That’s fine. Like, totally dope” he added the last sentence quickly, making her laugh. “If you want to sit here too, there’s plenty of space” Aang opened his arms, showing all the roof and smiled.

“Well, I’d love to” She said sitting at his side.

Katara recognized him from the dance floor: he was the guy who taught her a new dance movement and that was always smiling to everybody. She thought he was a pretty fun person and that she would not spent her time in vain having a conversation with him. 

“So, the soul and heart of the party is here” she started talking making him blush.

“Well, it’s not like without me Sokka isn’t dancing like a crazy guy downstairs, ya know?” he said making her laugh.

“Most definitely! I think that even if there was nobody home, Sokka would be dancing crazy downstairs” they laugh together.

“And why aren’t a betty like you dancing crazy downstairs too?” 

She blushed as soon as he called her ‘betty’. It was a compliment used to say a woman that she was beautiful and attractive and, she could admit for herself, he was pretty handsome too, specially when he laughed.

“Although this is a legit party, it is also a dying party. I bet that the alcohol is the only thing that’s keeping people active right now. They’re not bohos” Katara shrugged and deviated her eyes from Aang to the sky. “And you? What brings you here?”

“I like looking at the sky. I don’t know, we have a kind of connection. Have you ever thought of how would it be if we could fly and go to other galaxies?” he looked briefly to the sky, but Katara was a person whose beauty was hard not to look at.

“Gnarly. Your reasons are cooler than mine” she looked to him and blushed  _ again _ when she saw that he was looking at her. They kept eye contact for a short period of time till she looked away. “Neil Armstrong went to the moon. I think we’re def halfway there”

“Maybe. Won’t it be dope if, 30 years from now, we had something that allows us to fly? I would be the first to try, even with 50 years old” he said with sparkling eyes, making her laugh.

“You have a kid’s soul”

“But we kinda are kids. Teenagers; it’s a transition” he said and she looked confused to him.

“Now you look like a adult child” they laughed together.

At this moment, in the party downstairs started playing “Stayin’ Alive”, from Bee Gees. Katara may not be a truly dancer, but, when this music started in any place, at any time, it was impossible for anyone to stand still. Her feet automatically started dancing, although she was still sitting and, of course, Aang saw that movement.

“Hey, do you wanna dance?” he asked getting up and offering his hand to her.

“Actually, I’d love to” she smiled and accepted his hand, getting up.

They started dancing together in the perfect tune. Their movements complemented each other’s and the song, although they weren’t dancing  _ really together  _ since this song wasn’t made for a calm dance. The roof was pretty windy and Katara’s hair was dangling with it and, again, Aang thought she was really  _ really _ pretty, specially cause they were smiling and laughing all the way through. Then, the boy took her hand and spun her, making her laugh out loud, but that abruptly ended when he threw her away and then pulled her close, still holding her hand. 

It’s strange how, out of the blue, you can meet someone and feel a strange connection with them. Like the both of you knew in a past life, even if you don’t believe in past lives. This is what Aang and Katara were feeling while dancing in the roof of a dying party At this moment, actually, it doesn’t matter if there was a party downstairs or if a meteor was about to crush the earth right now, because, just like Neil Armstrong in 1969, it was just Aang, Katara and the moon. 

“Yo, I still don’t know your name” she said.

“I’m Aang, and you?”

“Katara” she smiled.

“Well, Katara, you’re on fire” he said about the dance.

Here’s some things you need to know about Aang:

  1. He’s a great dancer and love art and all its expressions.
  2. He can be really clumsy sometimes.
  3. He’s from the “likes to impress” type.



Put all this together and you may understand what just happened. 

Aang had a pretty girl in front of him – and one who already said that she thought that he was a good dancer – so, of course he wouldn’t think twice before do a new dance movement he just learned. And of course it wouldn’t work.

“Geez, Aang!” Katara screamed.

When he tried to do  _ the warm _ , his body threw itself at his hand, that wasn’t in a comfortable position to be in between Aang’s body and the floor.

First, he didn’t realize what happened that made Katara scream and the dance movement stop working. Then, an excruciating pain was all over his body, but concentrated in his right hand, which seemed like the epicenter of a earthquake. He soon screamed but tried to pretend like there wasn’t a big deal, when, of course he realized it was a  _ really big _ deal when he saw his swollen hand – and Katara realized it too. She felt something like her heart was crushed and that she needed to do something. It was all so quick that she didn’t even had time to think straight, but, as a medical school student, she knew the bare minimum to do.

“Ok, don’t try to move your hand” she said while tried to make a splint. “We need to go to the hospital”

“Whoa, the hospital?” he said between grunts.

“Yes, def the hospital” she helped him to get up and go downstairs.

They passed through a bunch of drunk and drugged young adults – what made Aang groan when one of them bumped into his hand – to finally find Sokka – who also wasn’t in his best senses.

“Yo, I see that you met! Aang, this is my sis” Sokka started saying until Katara stop him.

“Sokka, I need your car’s key” 

“My car’s key? Why don’t you use  _ your  _ car’s key?” he asked with his eyebrows frown. 

“They’re in my room and there’s people there. Please Sokka, it’s an emergency” she said looking to Aang, what made Sokka understand everything – probably in the wrong way – and smile. 

“Ok, ok, but be careful, Katara” he grabbed his keys and put them on her hand, with a responsible tone that made Katara roll her eyes.

“I’m always careful, dip. Thank you” she smiled while his drunk self had already forgotten everything that happened in the last 5 minutes.

They hurried to the hospital in Sokka’s car while Aang’s hand started to turn purple instead of white. He wasn’t complaining about the pain – who turned into a known “friend” by now – at all, what Katara thought was strange. The truth was that he doesn’t wanted to look like a  _ dramatic _ person to the girl at his side, who was already worried sick with him although they knew each other for 30 minutes. 

For what she knew, he could’ve had broken or sprained his wrist and she couldn’t leave him that way. Katara turned the radio on searching for some classic music to try to keep it calm; you see, she was a really patience person, but calm wasn’t a thing that she would put in her characteristics list. On the outside, she was dealing with everything beautifully – Aang was kinda impressed with this –, but she must admit that, on the inside, she was dead worry about the pain he must’ve had felt and was feeling still. They spent the entire way to the hospital quiet, absolved in their thoughts – he really wanted to talk to her, but she looked really  _ really  _ concentrated in driving, so he thought it was better to keep it quiet –, and it was a surprise for Aang to see that they’ve already got there. 

“You probably broke or sprained your wrist” she said to him “They will give you something for the pain and immobilize your right hand” Katara got off the car and the boy did the same, walking to the hospital.

“How do you know so many things about this? Like, how to immobilize my hand and those kinda stuff…” 

“I’m finishing pre-med school” she smiled and his eyes sparkled.

“Whoa, you’re really intelligent, huh?” he said and Katara felt her cheeks burn.

“And you are wise, adult child” 

“A wise old man with a broken wrist after trying to do a new dance step, at your service” he joked and she laughed while they entered in the hospital.

Since Katara wasn’t related to him in no degree, she had to stay in the waiting room the whole time, filling in Aang’s forms – even though she only knew his name – while the doctor was consulting him. She could’ve left him there, of course; it wasn’t a life or death case, but, although the fact that she had a really good and empathic heart, there was something about him that made her want to know more. He was a really funny guy after all and made her laugh in a short period of time. 

Katara was thinking about how Aang was taking too long at the doctor’s office – what made her leg shake compulsively – when she finally saw him with his right arm immobilized. She quickly got up and looked at him, who smiled. 

“Hey” he smiled. “You waited”

“Hey” she smiled too. “Of course I waited! I couldn’t leave you here, right?”

“Radical. You’re incredible, Katara” she blushed again. He was really a compliment guy, huh?

“I just couldn’t fill up these papers… If you’re right handed, I can write it all for you” she showed the clipboard to him, who grabbed it and put it in the balcony, writing with his left hand.

“Chill, I’m actually left handed” he smiled “A total disaster with my right hand, but I kinda can write with the left one” he said making her laugh.

“That’s hella dope, actually. I’ve never met a left handed before” 

“Well, I’m one of a kind” he gave a crooked smile and played with the pen in his end, which ended up falling and making her raise his eyebrows while he smiled. 

“I can totally see that” she said making him blush. 

Aang picked up the pen and quickly finished writing all his informations in the paper – he was right, he def  _ kinda _ could write with his left hand – and gave the clipboard to a nurse behind the balcony.

“Thank you” he said before he and Katara got off the hospital and entered the car. 

“Where do you live, Aang?” she asked, turning the car on.

“I actually have another question for you” Katara frown her eyebrows after his question, deviating her eyes to him.

“Bring it on”

“Do you think the party is over?” 

“I think that the cops may...”

“No…  _ our  _ party” he interrupted her.

“ _ Our  _ party?” 

“Yes. Our party. You see, we have two options right now: you can drive me home and then go to your house and sleep – if you’re lucky enough for the cops stop the party – or… you can do some fun things with me at the town” he smiled, taking a list of his pocket.

It must be something around 1AM and the hospital’s streets seemed desert. Katara wasn’t a person of taking too much risks – or any risk at all – in her life; even Sokka, her brother, was always telling her to do something  _ great _ , something  _ fun _ in her life.

_ “Do not waste your youth, Katara. You will miss it” _ her brother used to say to her all the time.

And, at the passenger seat of Sokka’s car, was Katara’s change to do something; to go out of her comfort zone with a person that, even if she knew him only for a couple hours, she liked already. 

He was looking at her with full expectations and a smile that could convince everyone. Katara was looking at him and Aang could see the gears working on her brain, thinking if it was a good idea, and he wished more than ever read her mind. The truth was: yes, he had a list of things to do before 25; and yes, he would do it anyway some day; but, yes, it would be a lot funnier if he had a pretty and fun girl doing this with him.

“Ok” she finally said.

“Ok?” he smiled.

“Yeah, ok!” she smiled too, laughing a little bit.

“That’s hella ill!” his smile turned bigger and he unfolded his list. 

“Tell me what you have in mind, mister one of a kind”

Aang read the paper on his hand – which Katara tried to look at but he wouldn’t let;  _ “it’s confidential information!”  _ he said – and smiled when he found the perfect thing to do.

“It seems like we will complete more than one item of my list today” 

“Should I be afraid?” she joked.

“Never. Go to the main avenue, please”

It was when she turned the car on again and, with it, the radio, which was playing Money for Nothing, by Dire Straits. 

_ “That ain't workin' that's the way you do it _

_ Get your money for nothin' and your chicks for free” _

They sang together at full lungs, laughing with the wind in their faces. Katara was having so much fun that she had to remind herself that she was driving and couldn’t go ahead and dance – even if there wasn’t a lot of people in the streets at the moment. Sokka always told that, even though he loved his sister, she could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but Aang didn’t think so; he thought that Katara was amazing and, suddenly, he felt really lucky for the idea of going to the roof look at the stars. He had a star right beside him right now.

Since there was no traffic at this time of night, it didn’t took long for them to arrive downtown and park Sokka’s car where Aang told her to. 

“So… What legit stuff you have for us at your secret list?” Katara smiled convinced at the boy in front of her.

“There’s an arcade a block away from here with the highest Defender score in the US” he said with shining eyes “And my goal is to beat it tonight; with your help. Whachu say?” she laughed.

“This better be good… But why did you told me to park a block away?” her eyebrows were frowned.

“Cause we’re going to walk through these streets and… maybe enter some stores? Who cares, soon we’ll be the next Defender’s champions!” 

He started walking taking her hand and flipping her, what made her laugh.

“Ok… This night I’ll have no worries”

“Dope! That’s how we talk!”

They started walking through New York’s streets and she finally knew what it meant her city’s nickname: “the city that never sleeps”. All the lights of all the shops were lightened and working very well, thank you; the sky was black but the city looked like a thousand stars bursting. She was feeling a lot of things together, and none of them were bad at all; it was like discovering a new world. 

She did a full 360° all by herself this time while still walking, just to look at everything around her, what made Aang think of how much Katara had truly enjoyed of her life. All the New York’s downtown lights were reflecting all over Katara’s body, especially her eyes, and he felt extremely happy and alive.  _ Alive _ . Just like he was at a movie.

“Yo, let me guess: you’ve never came here at night” he said.

“ _ Clink clink _ ! We have a winner! What’s your prize, mister one of a kind?” she smiled at him.

“We can find my prize at that deadly store” he pointed at a store that seemed to have everything in the world when she grabbed his hand and ran to the shop.

Indeed, it seemed to have  _ everything _ at the store: from bijou to books, from discs to games. Aang quickly tried a shining hat that matched a shining tie while Katara found a cat sunglass that looked  _ beautiful  _ on her. 

“How do I look?” she did a pose. 

“You” he looked at her completely amazed even though she had only put a sunglass on “You look fly”

“Good. You’re not the only one getting a prize” she smiled, not noticing his complete dumbnesses, and went to the cashier to pay for the sunglass; he repeated her actions, but with the hat and tie this time.

“Since I bought my own stuff, you still owe me something”

“Oh, I do?” she raised her eyebrows.

“Yes. You have to answer a question”

“Can I choose not to answer it if I don’t want to?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course. Only if you feel comfortable” he smiled. “You said it’s your first time here at night, having fun… What about your High School?”

“When you want to do pre-med, you don’t have  _ a lot  _ of time to have fun, you know? And I never was the “girls just wanna have fun” type, I guess” she shrugged. 

“And you are now?”

“I don’t know. I’ll always be the responsible one, ya know?” 

“You can be responsible  _ and _ funny at the same time. You don’t have to be stupid o have fun” he emphasized. “Does breaking the Defender’s score seems dumb to you?”

“Tell this to Sokka” they laughed. “And yes, yes it does” she mocked him, laughing harder.

“Ouch” he put his hands on his chest “But you’re doing it anyway, chick” he winked. 

“It’s dumb, but it ain’t stupid!” 

“Maybe you’re right…”

“I’m always right” it was her turn to wink, making Aang smile.

“Let’s see that on Defender” he said before running to the arcade, which was visible by now. She laughed and followed him, feeling the wind at her face and, for the first time, not thinking about what people – the 20 people awake, at least – would think.

When they arrived at the arcade, Aang soon bought all their tolkens, what made Katara a little angry but stopped with a “ _ I brought you here. I’ll pay” _ . It was her first time on an arcade in a long time and she noticed two things:

  1. There wasn’t a lot of kids there. Actually, it didn’t have any children _at all_. Of course that, in the afternoon, the place was crowded; but, right now was pretty quiet.
  2. The place wasn’t empty as she expected. It was almost like it was adult’s time to enjoy the games.



Aang went directly to the Defender, pulling her by the hand – a thing that she  _ definitely  _ noticed and didn’t complained. His hands were soft – and being really excited that there wasn’t anyone playing it. When he let go of Katara’s hands was the moment when he realized he was holding them. This thought made him a little embarrassed, but apologizing would definitely make things awkward, so he pretended it never happened. Besides, there was no problem at all holding someone’s hand to guide them somewhere, right? Right.

He soon made his head forget it and started talking:

“I present you… the Defender!” he raised his hands, excited. 

“Ok, and how we play it and make history?”

“I like the way you’re talking” he smiled “Well, basically you control a spaceship as it navigates the terrain, flying either to the left or right.” Aang started explaining “The joystick controls the ship's elevation, and five buttons control its horizontal direction and weapons. The object is to destroy alien invaders, while protecting astronauts on the landscape from abduction. Humans that are abducted return as mutants that attack the ship. Defeating the aliens allows you to progress to the next level. Failing to protect the astronauts, however, causes the planet to explode and the level to become populated with mutants. Surviving the waves of mutants results in the restoration of the planet. You are allotted three ships to progress through the game and are able to earn more by reaching certain scoring benchmarks. A ship is lost if it is hit by an enemy or its projectiles, or if a hyperspace jump goes wrong, as they randomly do. After exhausting all ships, the game ends”

“And then you win?”

“And then you win. But we have not to, like,  _ only _ win, we have to win with the biggest score possible”

“Totally tubular. Let’s do it” she said with determination.

Aang played first, to show Katara what to do in practice. Unfortunately, he ended up losing his three lives, cursing all the way down. It wasn’t just the game; he really wanted to prove that he was good to Katara, who laughed with all his cursing.

“I didn’t knew you cursed. You’re a cool guy”

“The Defender does things with you…” he joked. “Your turn now”

“Ok” she jumped a little bit, like she was doing some exercise and started the game.

It was pretty easy at the beginning. The shots were slow and deviate was easy. As the levels passed by, more challenges came along and it became a little hard… then,  _ really _ hard. Aang was encouraging and helping her as much as he could and she understood what “ _ the Defender does things to you _ ” meant, cause, out of the blue, she was screaming and cursing a game. She was actually doing super well and he was impressed. He was always trying to impress him – and he didn’t knew if it was working – but she was the one always impressing him in all the possible ways. 

But, unfortunately, the lucky didn’t shined for her. Almost at the end, she lost her third life.

“No!” she screamed. “Fuck this game, I can’t believe it!” he laughed “Now you laugh?”

“Yo, chill. I told ya, the Defender just  _ changes _ you, Katara”

“Damn, my score wasn’t even _ close _ ”

“But you’re really good and… Ok, I have an idea” he said super excited “What if… Instead of we play til death, each one of us play a level?”

“Do you think it will work?”

“I always think positive” he smiled.

“Ok, let’s get this crown” she smiled with him.

They played for at least one hour straight – what didn’t surprised the attendants who were used to see people trying to break records all the time – alternating between the levels. Aang’s left arm was starting to hurt – principally cause he only had one arm available it was harder – and Katara made a ponytail – it was better for concentration – and helped the boy every time he needed being his right hand. 

One thing that Katara thought she would never do, is have fun playing a game at the arcade, but that’s what they were doing. She and Aang were screaming and cursing together, doing high fives and helping each other; they were a team.  


It took one hour, but they finally did it. 

“Oh my god” she said, finishing the last level.

“We did it?!” he asked, smiling.

“Oh my god!” she screamed.

“We did it!” he screamed too.

“We fucking did it!”

She hugged him and he spun lifting her, laughing out loud.

“It’s dumb now?”

“It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done” she said getting off the hug “But I kinda liked it”

They looked at the screen, which was asking a name for the new record breaker.

“What do you think about  _ Kataang _ ?” he said.

“I liked it. Kataang” she smiled, writing their names on the screen. “By the way… what are your thoughts in celebrating this?” she said surprising him. He really thought that she would want to go home by now.

“I think that’s bad to the bone!” he smiled “And I bet that there are some club open right now”

“In New York, the city that never sleeps? I’m sure of it” she put the sunglass that was in her head, smiling.

Katara and Aang decided to search for a club by walking. The truth was that there were a lot of clubs opened at New York’s main avenue at 2AM – and, yes, they were crowded – but they wanted to find the  _ perfect _ one for the night. It was really strange, because Katara only went to five clubs in her whole life – while her brother lived on them – and, of course, they just got off a party. But clubs were different; they had some type of vibe that assured you that you wouldn’t stay still. Dance all night, that was the dancing club dilemma. 

She was worried with his twisted hand – since he injured it by dancing – but Aang guaranteed that he would be careful and remember her that his hand was immobilized anyway. Of course she still worries, but they made the pact that, if his hand showed any bad sign, they would leave. 

They spent about 10 minutes walking, talking, laughing, entering in a club and getting unsatisfied until they found the perfect one: it was kind of a bar too, with karaoke – the thing that conquered Aang – and a large dance floor; people there were talking, dancing, drinking, flirting and singing. The bar was coupled with the karaoke staff, and you needed to have 21 years to be able to go there; however, the dance floor was filled with teenagers too. 

Soon as they got in the dance floor, Aang got excited because Take On Me by a-ha was the song playing. 

“Yo, there is this dance step that I made for this song and you  _ have _ to learn it”

“Ok, dope. How is it?” she practically screamed to be heard.

He looked at her and put his two hands down at left and his hip at right; then he danced at a synchrony and speed that Katara really thought it was impossible.

“Aang! Be careful with your hand!”

“Ok, sorry” he said stopping. “But what do you think about trying yourself?”

“Me?” she put her hands at her chest “I don’t know. It’s too fast”

“I can help you” 

He got close to her and asked for permission with the eyes. She nodded and felt chills on her body when he touched her arms and hips, inducing her body to make the dance movements. Aang could have stayed there forever – especially cause she had a really good vanilla scent –, but of course it would be weird if he stayed for too long, so he soon moved away and stood in front of her again.

“Now you just…” he cleared his throat “Now you just do it fast at the song’s rhythm”

And so she did. It was really hard at the beginning, but she soon caught it and, out of the blue, the whole club was doing the same dance that Aang and Katara, as they laughed. They danced for about 30 minutes till they got tired and decided to go for a drink and sing at the karaoke.

“It will be fun, I promise!” Aang told her.

“Ok, but I’ll choose the song” she said looking at the list and founding a song that she really thought was appropriate for the moment. “Do you know this one?” Katara showed the song to him.

“Who doesn’t?”

Katara choose the song and both get on the stage.

_ “Won't you come see about me? _

_ I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby _

_ Tell me your troubles and doubts _

_ Giving me everything inside and out and _

_ Love's strange so real in the dark _

_ Think of the tender things that we were working on” _

She started singing, looking at the crowd. Aang thought that she had a really nice voice and had to warn himself that was his time to sing because, like a siren, she had hypnotized him. 

When he started singing, she deviate her eyes from the crowd to him, who was looking at her the whole time. Katara thought that he wasn’t the best singer, but he sang pretty well. Of course he was doing some stage dances, that people may thought that was for them to laugh, but she  _ knew _ it was for  _ her _ ; and that’s what she did: laugh.

_ “Don't you forget about me _

_ I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby _

_ Going to take you apart _

_ I'll put us back together at heart, baby” _

They sang the last chorus together, looking at each other and Katara could  _ swear _ that there was only the two of them there. She realized things that she didn’t before: that his eyes weren’t blue or brown, but actually a dark grey; and that he had a scar on his forehead similar to an arrow – she thought it was pretty dope.

When Aang and Katara finished, applauses were heard and they smile, thanking. They remained at the club for one more hour till decided to go home. The girl went to her house – because Aang’s car was there – and they said goodbye with a hug. 

Obviously, the party was over already and there was some people sleeping at the couch – including her friend, Toph, and a guy with a scar in his eyes (geez, why does everybody has a scar?). 

_ “If someone’s in my bed, I’ll kill Sokka” _ she thought with herself, but, for her brother’s sake, it was empty. It was about 4AM now and, as the unusual Katara she was being this day, she just went to bed without putting her pajamas on. She stared at the dark ceiling thinking about this night – and specially about her companion. 

It is a strange thing think about being alive. We all know that  _ we are alive _ , but the  _ feel _ of being alive is a completely different thing, and Katara knew this now. She had never felt the wind in her skin, the light in her eyes so sharply. It was a feeling that begun in his chest and then invaded her skin, causing chills all over her body; just like the ones she felt when Aang touched her – but, of course it was just her skin reacting to something unexpected; it didn’t meant anything. 

Through all her life, she was living; today, she was alive. Aang showed this to her; and also showed that she could be responsible  _ and _ have fun. That was new.

In the morning, Aang woke with his stepdad, Gyatso, with his hand at the boy’s forehead. At first, Aang thought it was something with his scar – what was kinda impossible, since he had it for 10 years –, but he didn’t felt any pain.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked sleepy to the man in front of him. “What time is it?”

“Yes, there is something wrong! It’s 12PM and you’re still in bed; I know you’re a morning person. Did you catch the flu? You’re not hot, indeed...” he said with his hoarse voice and concerned look. “Is it the devil?” he joked.

“Everything’s ok, Gyatso, relax” Aang laughed. “I just stayed up late…” he yawned and rubbed his eyes. In his act, his guardian saw his twisted hand and widened his eyes.

“Everything’s ok? What happened with your hand?” he said in a calm voice, sitting on Aang’s bed.

“Oh…” he looked at his hand “I was, like, at Sokka’s party, you know… And there was this fly girl…”

“Of course.” Gyatso smiled.

“And I tried to do the worm and kinda fell in my hand” he gave a crooked smile, making Gyatso laugh.

“You were up till so late cause you were at the hospital?”

“Actually, Katara, the fine girl I mentioned earlier, took me there” he said and his stepdad raised his eyebrows.

“And that was it?”

“No… We had a bomb night and, hey, guess what? We’re the new owners of Defender’s best score!” he said with excitement.

Gyatso laughed about his son excitement.

“She was this beautiful?”

“The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen” he said serious, with spark in his eyes.

“What about the inside?”

“So beautiful as at the outside”

“I see… It’s another kind of devil. Now get off this bed, young boy, is meditation time” he said getting up from Aang’s bed.

“Yes, sir” he jumped out of bed with a smile in his face.

Here’s some things that Aang thought about his last night:

  1. It was definitely one of the funniest moments in his entire life – and he had a _lot_ of them.
  2. He had forgotten that his hand was _that_ injured and hurting _that_ much. Now he understood Katara’s concern about him.



2.1.He liked that she was concerned about him and about people in general. Her good heart was showing.

  1. Aang _really_ hoped that she felt the same way and was 100% sure that the destiny act on their night, because he felt with her a connection from the espiritual world.
  2. And he _really_ hoped that she wanted to do another things with him.



He took a shower and prepared himself at his meditation moment with Gyatso. However, when he was at his bedroom’s door, he stopped for a second and searched for something at his jeans’ pockets:  _ the list _ .

**THINGS TO DO BEFORE 25:**

~~ Hold the title of the best Defender player. ~~

~~ Sing on a karaoke bar. ~~

~~ Walk on New York’s downtown at night. ~~

Katara woke with her cheeks hurting. 

She put her hands on her cheeks, looking for any wounds that weren’t there. She then realized that she laughed so much last night that her face hurt. This fact made her laugh again. According to the clock at her bedside table, it was about 1PM, which wasn’t that much of a problem since it was summer, but she still felt bad; sleeping really was a struggle for her, since it seemed a like a lot of time wasted. 

Katara soon got off her bed, took a shower and surprised herself with a pretty woken up – and with no hangover at all (she could tell by his face) – Sokka making pancakes for lunch. The girl was a better cooker, but Sokka could do amazing things too; their mother taught them well when they were kids.

“Good morning… Oops, afternoon, Sleeping Beauty” he winked.

“Weren’t you supposed to be whining around on the couch? Saying things like ‘Katara, my head is hurting as fuck’ or ‘Katara, the world is too fucking loud’?” she frowned his eyebrows while drinking a glass of water and examining the house that was a  _ truly _ mess.  _ ‘Dad will kill him.’ _ she thought.

“Life is too beautiful and too short to be grouchy, lil sis!” he smiled.

“Are you sick?”

“He’s in love” a voice said from the couch, revealing a girl who Katara quickly recognized as Toph. She was Katara’s friend first, but she and Sokka quickly bound too; at this point, she was almost family – although she was actually rich as fuck. 

“With that girl who looked too fine for him?” she smiled with Toph.

“No doy”

“Hey!” Sokka said offended “She’s not too fine for me, though she’s hella fine” Katara rolled her eyes “And it’s not of any of you business, but we kissed”

“You did?” his sister said.

“Yes, we did” he said proudly.

“Yo, we will have to deal with cocky Sokka all week? Because of the answer is yes, man, I’m out” Toph got off the couch and walk to the kitchen, making Katara laugh. 

“Hey!” Sokka said again.

“Just kidding, chicken” Toph laughed.

“You won’t be invited to our wedding” Sokka flipped the pancake making a face.

They ate and talked about last night, especially about Sokka and Suki – as Katara discovered later – when the pancake was ready – her brother really did a great job. Of course that she warned the boy about the fact that the house was a mess and that dad would kill him if he let it that way, but he told her to relax that he would clean it all up. Her brother was a lot of things, but he was responsible when was needed to.

More than once since she woke up – and especially during their conversation –, she caught herself thinking about Aang and their night.

Here’s some things that Katara thought about her last night:

  1. She never had so much fun in her entire life, counting with the time that Hakoda – aka dad – took her and Sokka to the beach for the first time.
  2. She was worried about how his hand was. It was not like she thought about him _all the time_ , you know, she was just worried.
  3. Katara was anxious to go out – not on a date, _of course_. She only knew him for one night, for Christ’s sake! – again with him. She didn’t believed in those kind of stuff, but it _seemed_ like they were destined to meet; like they had a connection. She realized it at the roof, at the arcade and at the karaoke. Thrice.
  4. She was curious about what else is on his list of things to do.
  5. And least, but most important of them all: she realized that, just like at the hospital, she had no idea of any information about him besides his name. Fuck.



_ “Ok, Katara, stay calm. Aang is Sokka’s friend and he must know at least his last name. But wait a little bit, you don’t want to look desperate, do you?”  _ she said to herself, pretending that nothing was happening.

Soon as they ended their lunch, Toph said that she needed to go home to deal with her old man instead of veg with them. Katara was surprised that she got home that early, since she always stays at least one full day with them, but she didn’t complained this time: she needed to talk with Sokka.

“Hey, bro” she started while they were sat in the couch watching TV.

“Bring it on” he said without taking his eyes off the television.

“A boy named Aang is your friend, right?” she said casually.

“Yes way, but how do you…” he interrupted himself abruptly and then looked at his sister. “I remember it! you asked for my car to go out with him!” he almost screamed. “You’re into him! Damn, Katara, how can you be into him and don’t ask his number? Or give yours?”

“I’m…” she paused, blushing “not into him, Sokka. He twisted his hand, I took him to the hospital and now I’m worried, that’s all”

“Oh, yeah? Then why did you just blushed?” he smiled.

“You’re an asshole” she rolled her eyes.

“Aang and Katara kissing in the tree” he started singing.

“Do you have 10 or 24 years?”

“24 years of good jokes and wisdom” Katara frowned her eyebrows “And generosity, of course”

“Goodbye, Sokka”

“Wait! Don’t you want Aang’s number?”

“Most definitely, but will you give me it?”

“Well, if I had it, I would” he observed she widen her eyes “ _ But _ , you see, I don’t have anybody’s number. I’m lucky that Suki wrote her number with a permanent pen, or I’d have lost it by now” he showed his forearm.

“You’re an impossible airhead”

“And you love me! But I know his last name and you can look at the yellow pages, what do you think?”

“This or nothing” she shrugged.

While Sokka was cleaning the living room, Katara was searching for Aang’s name at the phone book. Of course that the boy hadn’t believed for a second that his sister was only worried with his friend’s arm. Not that wasn’t typical of Katara to worry with people she didn’t even met – because, being honest, there was nothing that sounded more like his sister than this, that was the reason why she choose to be a doctor –, but there was something different in her eyes; like she was hoping for something. It wasn’t just preoccupation. 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do it”

“I’m not making you do anything! You’re doing this because you forgot to ask for his number” he shrugged.

“And you don’t have your  _ own friend’s  _ number”

“I don’t have anyone’s number”

“How you invite people to your parties?” she frowned her eyebrows without taking her eyes off the book.

“Easy: I tell one person and that person spreads the news. In this case, the person is always Aang; the boy knows everyone! Super dope”

“And you don’t have his number?!” she finally looked outraged at his brother.

“No, but I have his address and we’re friends, we’re always seeing each other” he closed another garbage bag. “I can give you his address if you want”

“ _ That  _ would be awkward, Sokka”

“Then keep looking, narbo”

“I will, dip”

Katara kept looking for at least 10 minutos – wow, there was a  _ lot _ of people at the yellow pages in New York till she finally found a guy named Gyatso with the same last name as Aang. Sokka confirmed that he was Aang’s stepdad and the girl wrote the number on a notepad. She went to her room – she would  _ not _ have a conversation with Aang when Sokka was listening –, grabbed her telephone – having a telephone at her room was a necessity; maybe one day she would have a brick and all her problems would be solved – and dialed her friend’s number.

Her heart was beating too fast and she didn’t knew why.

It was about 8PM when the phone rang. Aang and Gyatso were making tofu sandwiches for dinner and for Aang to take to tomorrow’s protest: Gyatso was preparing it and Aang was cooking it. Those kind of moments with his guardian were the best ones, at Aang’s vision. Everything he knew about life, wisdom and fun, he learned with Gyatso. He wouldn’t be able to go to tomorrow’s protest for job reasons, but Aang would go anyway; he knew that each person had its value and purpose. 

Since the boy was cooking with only one hand and the stove was on, Gyatso soon said that he was answer the phone, and so he did. 

“Yes?”

“Oh…” Katara said, noticing that this was definitely not Aang’s voice “Are you Gyatso?” 

“As far as I remember, yes. And you are?”

“Katara”

“I see” he smiled through the phone.

“Is Aang at home? I mean, is this his house’s number?”

“Positive for both questions. Do you want to speak with him?”

“If it’s possible, yes, please”

“In a moment”

He got off the phone with a smile on his face that made Aang pretty suspicious. 

“There’s a girl at the phone” he said chopping the lettuces for the sandwich. “She wants to talk with you”

“A girl wants to talk with…” he stopped “Is Katara?” he said a little desperate, turning the stove off “I mean…” he cleared his throat “Is Katara?” he said now with a calm tone and standing upright.

“Go and see”

He tried not to sound too excited when he answered the phone, since the fact that she was calling him didn’t really meant anything after all… right? Sokka once said to him that, if you have a crush on a girl – yeah, she was pretty, cool and kind, how could he  _ not _ have a crush on her? –, you have to act  _ chill _ ; and that was what he would do: act chill. But, yes, he was thrilling on the inside.

“Hey, Katara!” damn. Too excited.

“Hi, Aang!” she responded with the same tone. Wow. “I’m calling because I want to know how you’re dealing with your arm… Is it ok? Is it hurting?” she said that a little quick, but he caught everything.

“Yes, it is fine. I mean, I can’t see if it’s still purple or something like that, but I hope it’s not blue or pink, I don’t know” she heard her laugh through the phone and it was still perfect. “It hurts a little bit, but nothing that I can’t take”

“You’re a strong boy” she mocked him.

“The strongest I know!” he joined the joke.

“But it won’t get blue or pink, I assure you. Unless you’re a mutant, just like the X-Men”

“Some secrets must be kept” he joked, making a “shh” sound right after.

“But you must share with…” she was interrupted by a “ _ bep” _ that indicate that their time on the line was finishing. “Fuck… I think I have to go”

“Oh, sure. I have too, I’m making tofu sandwiches”

“Didn’t knew you were a vegetarian”

“I don’t kill animals” he shrugged.

“You’re a interesting person, Aang. I called to know about your arm and…”

“Wait!” he said abruptly “I’m going to a protest tomorrow. Maybe… you want to go with me?”

“Is that on your list?” she smiled.

“Uh… No, but I can add if you want to!”

“I would love to go” she said laughing.

“Great. I’ll be at your home at… 4PM?”

“I’ll be ready”

“Bye”

“Bye”

She turned the phone off with a smile and a strange feeling on her chest. Katara have always went to protests – especially when she was younger – but, for some reason, she stopped. The strange thing was that, although she was really excited to go to a protest again, she was more excited to see Aang again. She couldn’t deny that he was a person with whom she felt good with and she  _ definitely _ couldn’t deny that she wanted to know more of him. Was that a normal thing?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! here’s the part II of 80s films and I hope you enjoy reading how much as I enjoyed writing it 💙

Aang woke up the next morning feeling really great – and strangely thinking of her. He was really excited about the protest and thought about it all day long, making Gyatso say that he was with his head on the clouds. Maybe his head should always be on the clouds.

The time passed slowly till the time of the protest arrived. Aang wasn’t a extremely organized person – we wasn’t messy, either – but he organized everything he needed at his money belt: money – of course –, the tofu sandwiches, pepper spray – people can be aggressive – and his documents. With him there were also a lot of protest signs with  _ “stop destroying our environment!” “enough buildings!” “you’re killing our trees!” _ that he put at the back seat of his car. He was really excited – for everything – and hoped it worked – in both ways. 

When she got in the car, he couldn’t think she was more beautiful. He didn’t knew a lot of people that continued pretty with their hair up, but, God, Katara did. Aang immediately got off the car and opened the door for her, not before spinning her – he liked doing that, it always made her laugh.

“Thank you, gentlemen” she said with a smile and got in the car.

“That’s my pleasure, milady” he winked and got back into the car. 

They sang to Africa by TOTO and talked all the way to the protest. Katara’s house wasn’t far away from the place where the protest occurred, so it wouldn’t took that long for them to arrive. At the meantime, Aang told her that the protest was about a big company that was about to destroy another park to built some stupid building that no one really cared about. 

Katara noticed that Aang normally was a calm and comprehensive person, but he was  _ really _ pissed talking about people destroying nature. His principles were clear and she suddenly felt really attracted to him because of it – and because of his amazing smile. Seeing more of him than the fun boy of their last night really made her want to know more and more. 

_ “But” _ she remembered herself  _ “You’re here for a protest, not to kiss a boy you meet this week. It doesn’t matter how handsome he is” _

Her mind thank the timing for being this precise when they arrived. There was a lot of people there – when she says a lot, she meant it – holding signs and screaming towards a group of excavators with people in it. Katara saw that the park they wanted to demolish was actually beautiful; there were a lot of trees, grass and even some squirrels – something you don’t see that much in New York when you’re out of the Center Park.

“I can’t believe these chickens are even  _ thinking _ in breaking down something like  _ this” _ she said angry.

“They are. And that’s why we need to stop them! New York really doesn’t need a new building!” he screamed the last sentence and a lot of “yeah!” were heard.

“And we will stop them!” she grabbed one of Aang’s signs and put it up, making him smile.

As they entered the crowd, Aang held Katara’s hand, what made her blush.

“For us not to…” he cleared his throat “Get lost of each other, you know?”

She also held his hand.

“Of course” she smiled and everything was worth it.

As they were screaming a decorated rhyme, a man came closer to the duo, only observing. He was wearing a suit and dressing properly to a big company reunion. He had long dark hair and didn’t seemed to have more than 45 years, to be exact. Katara and Aang only noticed his approach when he laughed.

“Is there a problem, sir?” Aang asked respectfully.

“Yes, there is a lot of problems, young boy” he smiled and Katara thought of how her brother would do a joke about his suit if he were there. “One of them is this ridiculous protest by young adults like you two that think they can change the world. But you can’t”

“Excuse me, but yes, we  _ can _ change the world. We’re a new generation fighting for a cause; fighting for  _ our  _ world; the world they want to destroy” Katara said outraged, making the man laugh sarcastically again.

_ “Wow, she is incredible”  _ Aang thought.

“You can’t win this battle because it isn’t just about you and I; it is about capitalism, and it have already won” he shrugged.

“If you think like this, then why are you at the protest?” Aang said.

“Because it’s  _ my _ company” he smiled with all of his teeth exposed.

It was clear now. Aang recognized him: he was Ozai, Zuko’s – a friend he had – father – kind of the worst  _ ever _ – and a multimillionaire. The boy hated him. And that must be why he choose the both of them to importunate.

“So you’re ok with destroying our ecosystem, killing these squirrels  _ and  _ supporting an uneven system?” Aang practically screamed.

“That’s just life. You will learn it”

Katara didn’t knew exactly why or how she did it, but she did it. The rage was so high at her body, that it just act for itself – without questioning her logic first – and, the next thing she knew was that she had just punched Ozai in the face.

It’s strange how adrenaline works on our bodies, and it was clear that, the popular expression “one second of courage” comes from the hormone. This, combined with the rage she was feeling, is the perfect explanation to why she punched a multimillionaire in the face. 

“You’re a coward” she said before Aang grab her hand and start running to the car.

Both of them started laughing really hard, what made breathing a little hard, but they didn’t care at all. When they got in the car, Aang soon started it and they got away from the protest. 

“I can’t believe you punched  _ Ozai _ in the face” he laughed.

“Neither can I!” she said “I mean, he was a son of a bitch, I couldn’t leave it that way”

“He  _ is _ a son of a bitch. You know, I have a friend who’s, like, his son”

“Shut up!” she said.

“I kid you not! And when Zuko was little, Ozai gave him a scar on the eye. Now you gave him a black eye”

“Karma really is a bitch, huh?” she laughed.

“Indeed. And you were amazing back there.” he paused “You are amazing, actually” he said making her blush.

They drove for some minutes until Aang stopped in a green and empty area and took his list of his pocket.

“Go to a protest with a fly girl… Check!” he said making her laugh.

It was funny how being with Aang was  _ easy _ . She didn’t had to think much before talking to him or doing something. It was like he minimized her worries and made her feel light; however, at the same time, they had a type of connection that she couldn’t really explain, just feel. She took off her seatbelt and turned herself to him; her blue eyes staring at him gave him chills.

“Why do you have this list?”

“Well… I always have these kind of lists. I made one when I was 15 and, since then, I never stopped. It remembers me to enjoy life besides my obligations; to don’t forget to live” he gave a little smile when realized that she was looking straight at him, concentrated.

Chills.

Again.

“Can I see it?” she asked.

“Actually, no. It’s a surprise”

“A surprise?” she raised her eyebrows “May I know why?” 

“Because, if you’re willing to, of course, I would love if you complete this list with me…”

“Without knowing what’s in it? I’ll not rob a bank” she joked.

“Why not?” he made a confused face that made her stop laughing right away.

“Aang, are you serious?”

“Of course not!” he laughed while she slapped his arm.

“That was not funny” she frowned making he do the same. He felt bad.

“Hey, Katara, I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to scare you…”

“I got you! It was funny, actually” she laughed.

“I can’t believe I fell for my own joke!”

“Yeah, you did!” they laughed together. 

Strangely, this made Aang feel more attracted to her. Every time that he discovered a new thing about Katara, he liked her even more. He liked her worried side – like the one at the hospital – and her funny side – like right now.

“But I’m in with one condition: before we do it, you have to tell me what it is and I have to agree, just like we’ve done since the roof’s night”

“Agreed” they shook their hands. 

They talked till the sunset, when Katara told she needed to get back home to help Sokka clean the mess – yes, the house was still looking like trash – since Hakoda would came home tomorrow. She actually wouldn’t realized that was time to go if the sun haven’t warned her. 

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t disappointed, but he was starting to understand Katara by now: she had obligations and it doesn’t mattered how much he wanted to do a fun thing, the right and responsible thing would  _ always _ come first. He truly liked and respected this about her. So, of course that he started the car.

When Aang was driving, she realized that he normally drove with his two hands – as it should, different from her brother –, but one of them – the left one – was always loose and the other – the right one, especially cause it was still immobilized – firm, showing how he was confident doing it. She realized that, when he laughed, a little dimple showed near his eyes – and sometimes she tried to make him laugh just to see it again. She realized that he probably had ADHD, cause his leg or hand was always in movement. And, especially, she noticed that, although she always thought he was handsome, with the sunset light at his face, he was more beautiful than ever.

When they arrived at Katara’s house, it was almost dark. They stayed a couple minutes in silence, till Aang turned to her and say:

“The city is long but life is short in this town, I’m glad we got to redo the time” 

“You’re a strange person, Aang” she said looking deeply at him and always stopping in his eyes.

“Why?”

“Cause, at the same time you’re incredible fun to be with, you’re responsible. You have strong principles and it shows your enormous heart; you see life beyond only living, you see life being life, being  _ alive _ and, God, I realized all of it only in two days” she said that really quickly “You keep telling me that I’m amazing, but…”

At this moment, no words were needed any longer. He came closer to her and put his hands on her cheek, looking for a “yes” in her eyes – which was given. Their kiss couldn’t be described by any other word than intense. As soon as Katara corresponded it and got closer to him, Aang moved his hand from her cheek to her neck, what gave her chills all over her body. 

Kissing him had the same feeling that running for no reason at night with the wind at your skin. Kissing her had the same feeling that watching the sunrise at the beach.

Of course that the attraction was there; it always have been there. But it was still a surprise for both of them, especially when they realized what just happened. Getting off the kiss was hard, but she  _ really _ didn’t wanted to risk Sokka seeing it – he wouldn’t leave her alone.

“So… I have to get in” she said biting her lips.

“Ok… I’ll see you around?” he smiled.

“Def” she smiled before getting off the car.

“You’re late!” Sokka said from the couch. “I thought that the cops would have interfered by now”

“It was a pacific protest, dumbass. Besides, me and Aang got out earlier” she looked at him, who was way too dressed up.

“So… you are a real thing now, huh?” he smiled to provoke her. 

“We’re not…” she remembered the kiss “You’re all dressed up, is this for our new clean house?”

“Haha, pretty funny, Katara” he got up “I just got back from my  _ date _ with  _ Suki _ . At least I admit it was a fucking date” 

“And how was it?” she smiled.

“Radical, you know?” he smiled too “She’s… I don’t know, she is bold and bitchin and even laughed at my jokes!”

“I can’t believe”

“That she laughed at my jokes? They’re amazing!”

“Yeah, of course… But is that she likes you beside your bad smelling” Katara said laughing while he sniffed under his arm. 

“I’m extremely good smelling, thank you!” he said mad crossing his arms.

“If you say so…” she shrugged.

“And you, like, totally changed the subject! Which is you and Aang  _ kissing _ ” he did a kissing sound.

“You’re a 10 year old boy” she blushed.

“Your cheeks denounce you”

“Are we going to clean this house or dad will kill you tomorrow, you dimp?” Katara said while started cleaning.

“Sorry,  _ mom _ ” he started cleaning too.

“By the way, the protest wasn’t  _ that _ pacific… Cause I kind of punched a multimillionaire in the face…”

“You did  _ what?! _ ” he screamed “That was super dope, Katara! That’s my fucking sister, guys!” Sokka hugged her.

Although she and her brother were always arguing and provoking each other, they really had a  _ great _ relationship. When their mother died, they only had each other, so of course that Sokka taught her so much and Katara did the same for him. They always helped each other, no matter what – even if one of them didn’t agreed at first. This is brotherhood.

Today was another day that Aang woke up feeling great. She and Katara kissed. 

Here’s some things that Aang thought while he didn’t got up from his bed that morning:

  1. He couldn’t say that he have been waiting for this to happen for years, but of course that is was true since the first time he saw her.
  2. He knew that he kinda asked if it was ok and that she corresponded, but he didn’t knew what was her feelings about this now. Maybe she only kissed him because of the moment.
  3. Aang preferred to not kissing her again than stop being her friend; they knew each other for only a couple of days but he really liked her company.
  4. He wasn’t in love. It was just a crush. Seriously.
  5. He wanted to ask her out again, but it was best if he waited a little bit, right? Sokka always told him to act like you don’t care. Of course that he wouldn’t do that, but he couldn’t be _that_ needy, right? – and, yes, he had Katara’s (Sokka’s) number.
  6. Today he would be doing other things.



Aang called his friend Zuko and they went to a shopping. Shoppings were new stuff chronologically and a  _ truly _ fever. Especially in New York, most of them were always crowded, and this time it couldn’t be different. On the food court had a jukebox playing one of Zuko’s favorite song of all time: Killer Queen – yeah, he was a great Queen fan – and he and his best friend were jamming while talking.

“Azula called me last night” Zuko said. Although he and Aang had a age gap of 4 years, their families knew each other – and that’s how they became friends. 

“Yeah?” Aang said between milkshake sips.

“Yeah. He said that  _ your _ girlfriend gave dad a black eye” 

“She’s not  _ my girlfriend  _ but, yes, she punched him in the eye at the protest yesterday” he blushed. “What did you said?”

“Maybe this way he would get his honor back” he shrugged making Aang laugh.

“Are you serious?”

“I kid you not” Zuko smiled.

“Bro, that was stellar. I hope she blushed with anger”

“I bet she did” he laughed a little bit “And thank  _ your girlfriend  _ for me, he really deserved it”

“She’s not my girlfriend” he blushed again.

“So why do you keep blushing every time I say that she is?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Cause… you know, I like her…”

“You can’t fool me, I knew it!” 

“Wow… Sometimes your family’s competitive side really shows” Aang joke making Zuko punch him in the arm. “Ouch!”

“I hate you” the younger smiled “Ok, maybe I don’t, but tell me everything about this girl”

Aang told Zuko everything about Katara, since the night they meet till yesterday – what wasn’t  _ really _ a lot of time, but he was never the type of person to hide or deny his feelings, so he told literally everything to his best friend. 

“It seems like you’re in love to me” Zuko finally said.

“But I’m not. It’s just a huge crush”

“You kissed her”

“Since when you can’t kiss a crush? Besides, if I was in love, I would say, you know”

“Yeah, I do. So, what are you going to do now?”

“I’ll wait, you know? I’d love to, like, call her right now and ask her out? Yeah, sure! But I will? No. Sokka told me to not be that desperate” Aang said quickly.

“It makes total sense, actually…” Zuko said honestly.

“I don’t know if it does… But Sokka’s good with flirting with people, so…” he shrugged.

“I’ll ask Mai about it” the older one said referring to his girlfriend. 

“Brilliant!”

He really hoped that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Aang knew that she was the one that called him the last time, so, by any rules, it was his time, but should him so soon? He shouldn’t. And, in the meantime, he could choose the next date – date? – they would have from his list. 

_ Mental note: when at home, add & check “kiss a gorgeous girl”. _

It was about 6PM when Katara and Sokka’s father got home. She knew that she would stay at home all day waiting for her dad, but she couldn’t deny that she was a little disappointed that Aang didn’t reached her. Of course she wasn’t angry; he could be busy, and that’s totally fine. Plus, they didn’t needed to talk  _ every day _ although she kinda wanted to.

Hakoda left his bags at the living room – since his children were waiting for him there and were staying for the summer (at least Sokka, who had his own apartment) – and hugged Sokka first and then Katara, with a big smile on his face.

“Can you guys get taller in two days?” he joked. Katara knew where Sokka’s sense of humor came from.

“I def did” Sokka said making his sister rolls her eyes.

“You got more stupid, yes”

“That’s jealous cause you were never taller than me”

“You’re two years older, this isn’t fair”

“It seems like you are still kids…” Hakoda said, laughing. 

“Only Katara” Sokka said making his sister punch him on the arm. “Ouch!”

“Your sister is tough” their father said, laughing.

“Don’t tell me about it. Ozai must be with a bla…” he started saying but Katara interrupted him.

“Are you hungry, dad?” she gave Sokka one of her mortal looks.

“Ozai must be with a  _ what? _ ”

“Sorry, I didn’t meant to say it…” Sokka whispered at his sister’s ear.

“I kinda punched him in the face… But that’s past, there’s food at the fridge” she said quickly.

“Ozai, the multimillionaire? The CEO of Fire Nation Company?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,  _ that _ Ozai…” she mumbled.

They stayed a couple seconds in silence. Katara was a grown up woman, but she still lived at his dad’s house till she ends pre-med school – because it was cheaper – and he was her father, after all. She knew that Sokka didn’t meant to do it on purpose, but she about to kill him when her dad opened up a smile and started laughing.

“That’s my girl!” they high fived “I’ve been wanting to punch that asshole for years now. I hope he’s with a black eye” he continued laughing and went to the kitchen.

Katara and Sokka looked at each other clearly thinking  _ “Did you knew about that?” _ and then laughed too. If it was any other person, they knew that their father would not approve at all this behavior; he always said that violence was the last resource. But, apparently, everyone would punch Ozai if they had the chance.

Four days had passed since the protest and Katara was starting to feel kinda angry. When was her turn, she called the very next day – was she wrong to do that? No! The “interest game” was ridiculous to her and seemed like something that Sokka would do – and they haven’t even kissed! Just spent an amazing night together. And then they kissed and she felt like she was in high school again living something that could turn into an intense romance – she’d be lying if she say that she was starting to like ( _ really  _ like) Aang –, because it was not normal to think and want to talk and see someone all the time when they’re only your friend. But he haven’t called her up yet.

She and Toph were sat at her house’s couch  _ trying _ to watch a movie. Being honest, Toph was trying to watch Grease while Katara was talking about it – and about Aang – all the time.

“I just can’t believe it, you know? Danny and Sandy has an  _ incredible _ time together and then he just pretends that he doesn’t know her? It’s ridiculous, Toph” she said angry.

“You’re talking about you and Aang again, right?” Toph threw a popcorn on her mouth.

“No, I’m talking about Danny and Sandy”

“Ok… So… Why Sandy didn’t just called Danny?”

“Toph, he literally pretended that she didn’t exists” she looked at her friend.

“Katara, don’t play dumb”

“Because I was the last one to do it!” 

“And you like him?” 

“Maybe I do” 

“Ok, you do”

“Hey!”

“C’mon narbo, I know you enough for this game. If you like him, you should call him”

“Not even you believe in this” she said suspicious.

“I just think that you should, you know, take the lead…”

“Take the lead?”

“Yeah… You know, don’t wait for him to do things” she shrugged.

“Maybe you’re right! I mean, maybe he doesn’t even have my brother’s number!” Katara got up from the couch and walked to the phone.

Aang was starting to feel guilty. There have been four days since he and Katara last spoke and, by rules, he knew that it was his time to call her. However, he was also following Sokka’s dating rule and waiting for Mai’s answer if that really worked or not. He was going against all his instincts and rules, because he really wasn’t the type of person to pretend that he didn’t care, was this the right thing to do?

It didn’t seemed the right thing. The boy haven’t been in a lot of relationships but he knew one thing for sure: he wasn’t a hiding person and, if Katara or any girl would lose interest in him for following his heart, then it wasn’t worth it.

He was absorbed in his thoughts and decided to call her when his room’s phone rang. 

“Hello?”

“Wassup, Aang” he heard Zuko’s voice over the phone.

“Zuko! I have updates about Katara” he said with a confident voice.

“Really? Well, I have something to say too. You go first”

“Ok… I realized that, if I want this to work out, I have to trust my heart. And my heart is saying to call her and to not be a dumbass. I was literally about to do this when you called me” he said deeply and excited at the same time.

“That’s actually great cause I talked to Mai yesterday night and… she, like, laughed at me when I said Sokka’s theory and said something like ‘that’s the biggest shit I’ve heard. If you ever do that to me, I’ll dump you’”

“She would dump you?” Aang went pale.

“Not really” he laughed “At least I don’t think she  _ really _ would…” 

“Can I… call you later? I kinda really need to call Katara right now” 

“Sure, man. But don’t forget me and update me!”

“Ok, I will!”

Katara was about to call Aang when the phone rang. She looked at Toph, who shrugged, with a strange face before picking up the phone, hoping for it to be quick.

“Hey” she said.

“Katara?” she heard Aang’s voice and was sure that she was able to  _ feel _ her heart beating.

“Aang?” he smiled noticing 

“ _ Clink, clink,  _ what’s your prize, young lady?”

“I don’t know, what are my choices?” she smiled. She was still a little mad with him but she was also very happy that he called her and that she was talking to him.

“Is it him?” Toph looked at her “Ok, I’ve seen your dumb face, it’s him” 

Katara threw a pillow at her friend.

“Well, you can accept my invitation to a date. Which, of course, is an item from my list”

“I don’t know… I need to know what kind of  _ date _ is” the emphasized the word date.

“Is an outdoor concert tomorrow night. I’ve got the tickets and I think you’re gonna like it” he crossed his fingers, hoping that she would not dump him.

“Ok” she smiled.

“Ok?”

“Ok!”

“Ok… I’ll pick you up at 12AM”

“That late?”

“Yes”

“Brill, I’ll be waiting. By the way, a question: why took you so long to call me?”

Wow. That was a surprise.

”Once your brother told me that, to get a person, you have to play the hard to get and I...” he stopped when he heard Katara laughing.

”I can’t believe you followed Sokka’s advices”

”Well... He’s always dating and...”

”Aang, don’t play hard to get. Ever. Be hard to forget”

”Am I hard to forget?”

”See you tomorrow” she said before hung up.

Now it was  _ for real _ . They had an  _ official _ date.

_ “My heart is too fast”  _ Katara thought a little bit scared.

“So… Did Sandy already forgave Danny?” Toph asked, smiling.

“We’ll see” she smiled and they continued watching the movie.

Katara woke up anxious. She didn’t knew whose concert they were going to but that didn’t really mattered right now. Sometimes, the person with who you’re going with valued more than the place in which you’re going to; and, with Aang, that was the deal.

The day passed slowly to her, even with the billion things she decided to do to make time pass: decide her clothes for tonight, cooking, even trying to do yoga – it didn’t really worked out, especially because Sokka decided to try it too and they were  _ horrible _ on it. 

“If yoga is for you to calm down, then why are you yelling at me?!” Sokka said to her while they were practicing. 

“Sorry. I’m just a little bit anxious”

“Anxious to kiss Aang?  _ Smoochie smoochie _ ” he pouted.

“Maybe I am!” 

“Really?” Sokka stopped with whatever he was doing.

“Will you stop annoying me now?”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won't… And I like the second one better” he smiled.

“Fuck off” she pushed him and he fell on the floor.

“Hey!”

Did she just admitted something to Sokka? She didn’t knew. But she knew that she had admitted something to herself: she wanted to kiss Aang. A lot.

Surprisingly, Aang wasn’t nervous; he was excited. The band that was going to play at the concert was somewhat unknown – but the music was  _ good _ – and he was hoping that she would enjoy it. He always wanted to go to a outdoor concert and was happy that he had followed his heart and bought it to go with Katara. The place was cool, but the person with whom he was going with was definitely cooler.

He was waiting at his car when he saw her.

Accordingly to a research made by Discovery News, the time needed for someone to fall in love is about one fifth of a second; almost as fast as you can think. In conclusion, that “love at first sight” shit is as real as you and me. 

That was what Aang felt seeing her. Suddenly, a crush wasn’t enough anymore to describe how his heart beat and the butterflies at his stomach attacked at the moment she smiled at him. 

Differently from Aang, Katara was nervous and excited at the same time. All these feelings were new to her. Not that she hasn’t been in love all her life, because she had, but not like  _ that _ . It wasn’t only new and exciting, was comfortable. Yes, that was the word: it was comfortable; she felt comfortable and still thrilling at his side. It was a different kind of love, but, strangely, a better one. 

At the moment she got in the car, the boy kissed her hand, making Katara laugh. Maybe Sandy was easy to forgive when it comes to Danny. 

“You’re so…” he cleared his throat “I mean, you’re really…”

She laughed at his difficult to formulate a sentence and gave him a peck that evolved to a soft and short kiss.

Here’s some things that Katara noticed by kissing Aang:

  1. It was something that you knew was new but seemed antique; comfortable. Like going to a place you’ve never been before and realizing that is the place where you should have been all your fucking life.
  2. His mouth always tastes like mint. She _really_ liked that.
  3. She couldn’t think very clearly when they kissed.
  4. Everytime they kissed – which were two, but she already considered a good number to start – he touches at her skin. She really liked that too.



“Well, welcome, milady” he smiled when they got farther from each other “Are you ready to some rock n’ roll?”

“Of course,  _ monsieur.  _ I’m always ready” she smiled too.

“We’re people with rock clothes going to a rock concert that are talking like people going to an opera house” he joked.

“Hey! You started” she laughed.

“Well, I’m a gentleman”

“I can see that” she smiled and hold his hand for some seconds, letting go for him to be able to drive.

He never hated having to drive so much.

In their way to the concert, just like always, they were always talking. Katara asked about Aang’s hand and how he was feeling. He told that it was getting better and he saw that it wasn’t purple anymore, what made her happy. In some way, of course she was still worried about his hand, but she was glad that it happened or maybe she wouldn’t have the best night of her life – till now. Who knows what this night and many others hold for her? – may have not happened. That was a lot worse. And Aang thought that too.

When they arrived, both of them were truly amazed. The concert was in the middle of the Central Park – Geez, how Aang got those tickets? – and, although there were a lot of people there, it wasn’t really crowded. They passed through all the people holding hands – this time, they wasn’t pretending that it was because they didn’t wanted to get lose; this time, they could say that it was because they  _ wanted to _ hold hands. Because her hands were soft and he wanted to hold it; because his hands with hers felt, somehow, right. – and got a nice spot near the stage.

“Yo, whose concert is this?” she looked at him. Every time she did that, it was more of a confirmation of how beautiful he was.

“A local band. But they’re hella dope” he smiled and looked at her too. 

_ “The moonlight really fits her well” _ he thought and had to control himself to don’t kiss her right at the moment; he didn’t knew if they were in  _ that _ phase yet.

“A  _ local band _ got a show at the  _ Central Park? _ Bullshit” she laughed.

“I swear! If it was a big band, like Dire Straits, you would’ve heard on the radio by now”

“Ok, you’ve got a point. But I’m still hoping Mark Knopfler will start singing any moment from now” 

“I kinda do have a point” he pulled her closer to him, smiling, and she felt her skin burn – especially the touching point. Katara loved Aang’s spontaneity.

As soon as the show began, Katara saw that it  _ was _ a local band, but they started the show singing Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits, what she thought was a funny coincidence. They played some covers and some original songs and it was one of the most amazing experiences of her entire life. She and Aang danced and sang all the concert – especially together, with Aang spinning Katara and she doing the same with him, laughing out loud because he was a lot taller than her – and, at the end, he hugged her from behind swaying to the music. 

When the show ended, Aang soon took off The List from his pocket and risked that night’s event. People was starting to dissipate and they were on their way to his car, too. It was about 2AM and he took a way different from the one that lead them to Katara’s house. In the time that he parked in front of the beach, the girl looked at him, smiling.

“What is this?”

“That show and that party ended, but not  _ ours _ ” he smiled too with the reference to their night and, again, took off The List from his pocket; but, this time, he gave it to her.

**THINGS TO DO BEFORE 25:**

~~Hold the title of the best Defender player.~~

~~Sing on a karaoke bar.~~

~~Walk on New York’s downtown at night.~~

~~ Go to an outdoor concert. ~~

Go to the beach at night. 

~~Go to another protest with a gorgeous girl.~~ _(added later)_

~~Kiss a fly girl.~~ _(added later)_

She read everything with attention. It was like Aang had just gave a piece of his soul to her and she was really excited to know more about who we was, what he liked and what made  _ him _ feel alive, because she was learning that still. He thought it was cute as fuck – not with those words, he wasn’t a bad words fan – the way that she was taking this serious, like it was a responsibility. 

“Go to the beach at night?” she looked at him.

“If you want to” he shrugged.

“Of course I do” she smiled “But we will not go into the sea. Something bad can happen”

“Oh, c’mon, it would be stellar!”

“Maybe at the very shore”

He smiled and they got off the car. There’s something about nights. Normally the biggest parcel of people is sleeping at this time, like they should be, but there’s some benefits in being awake at this time, too. Normally, the nights are summarized in people wanting to party – and, with party, imagine this the way you want to. Alcohol, drugs, sex, dancing, all at once or all at a time. But, it wasn’t  _ just _ that kind of party. There was also the lovers’ party; that kind that only the moon could see. And, again, there was just Aang, Katara and the moon. 

“This is simply beautiful” she said looking at the sky “I’ve always wanted to come to the beach at night, you know? Feel the wind at my face; the water on my skin; the moonlight drinking on me. It seems to give me strength, you know? People believe in God, but I believe in the moon” 

_ “Wow” _ Aang thought. One of the best things of that night was seeing another side of Katara. He knew the responsible one, the fun one, now the deep one. And, strangely, he loved all of them. Love can be frightening, for sure, but we wasn’t scared at all. 

“She rises like the blood moon in a sky of a thousand stars bursting” he said making she look at him.

“What?”

“It’s a poem about a girl that rises with the moon. You’re that girl. I mean, you’re literally glowing; your eyes, your skin, your smile... Everything”

One thing that Katara notices about Aang: he had way with words and almost always – she remembered every time he was speechless when he saw her – knew what to say. She got closer and kissed him, with her hands at his cheeks while he had his hands at her waist – which he thought was  _ really _ good, because he could pull her closer to him.

“What was that for?” he smiled.

“This one is because you’re amazing, Aang” she smiled too.

“This means that we may go to the sea now?”

“Is dangero…” she was about to finish the sentence when he ran to the big black in front of him and stayed at the shore just like she told. Katara really liked that he respected her opinion like that.

He soon picked some water with his hands and threw in her, making her scream and do the same with him.

“Is this a war statement?” she said.

“I like ‘a fun game’ better” he winked and threw water in her back again.

“You’re playing with fire” she laughed and went after him, that was running by now.

“Actually, I’m playing with water” she rolled her eyes.

They stayed like this for a couple minutes till Aang got tired and declare peace. He got some blankets that were at his car and they sat in the sand, hugged.

“How we end up in a beach like this?” she laughed.

“Well, sometimes some good things happen when you’re having a hella fun night”

“Like meeting you” she smiled and looked at him. If one day thought that her eyes couldn’t be more beautiful, he was wrong;  _ definitely wrong _ . In the moonlight, they seemed to say “no one knows anything but us”. And honestly? No one knew anything but them.

You never know when someone is about to change your life in a way you never thought was possible. You don’t wake up one day and think “today I’ll meet the love of my life”, because that’s not the kind of thing that you can feel before it happens. But, when it happens, you know for sure. You know deep down in your soul that everything that you’ve been looking for is right in front of you.

Aang was a morning person. He loved the sun and all its positive vibe and how it makes him feel alive. But, with a Katara – clearly a night person –, he discovered that the moon and the stars had the same effect. Maybe being alive had that effect. And he noticed that when the city was sleeping, he and Katara could stay awake and keep on dreaming. And, yes, maybe he loved the night too.

“I think I really like you” he said. His heart was beating  _ really _ fast. 

She looked deeply at him, the same way she did when she looked at the moon. This look have him chills.

Katara felt like something was burning so bright inside of her that it doesn’t matter if she was all wet at 4AM in the morning, she wasn’t that cold.

“I think I really like you too” she answered.

All she knew at the end of the day is you want what you want, and you say what you say, you follow your heart even though it will break sometimes, and you love who you love, there is no other way. If there’s something she learned from her million mistakes is that Aang is the one that she wanted at the end of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... that’s it. i’m really proud because that’s the first write fic that i actually ended and... i’m kinda proud. i’d like to thank toni and ray for this, for reading and helping me with ideas. i love you, girls. and i’d like to give a final thank to sunshine; hope you liked it, honey

**Author's Note:**

> so that was part I, guys! I’ll post part II this week still. thanks for reading and comments are >always< welcomed. hope you guys are so anxious about part II as i am in posting it


End file.
